No. 4 Alabama Tops Mizzou Basketball

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Runs on both sides of halftime lifted No. 4 Alabama over the Missouri men’s basketball team on Saturday evening, 85-64. The Tigers fall to 14-5 on the season and 3-4 in SEC competition, while the nationally-ranked Crimson Tide improves to 17-2 with a perfect 7-0 mark against conference opposition.

Senior Isiaih Mosley led the Tigers in scoring for the second time this season with 19 points while shooting 9-of-18 from the field. Off the bench, graduate guard DeAndre Gholston pitched in 10 points to mark back-to-back contests in double figures along with five boards.

Junior Mohamed Diarra (Montreuil, France) also added career-high totals with eight points and 12 rebounds on the night, with his dozen boards marking the second most by a Tiger this season.

Alabama jumped out to an early lead, starting the contest on a 9-2 run as Mizzou called its first timeout. The Tigers got back into the matchup right out of the timeout, forcing five consecutive missed field goals as the offense came alive to make it a one-score contest. Mosley connected with freshman Aidan Shaw on a backdoor alley oop to give Mizzou its first lead, 14-13, as a part of a 12-4 run.

A balanced attack that saw seven different Tigers convert a field goal in the first half powered Mizzou’s offense in a seesaw affair through 20 minutes. However, Alabama re-established its lead with a 15-5 run heading into halftime to end the first stanza with a 38-28 advantage.

As the second half started off, Alabama continued to extend its lead by outscoring Mizzou, 17-6, to pull in front by 21 points. A 10-2 spurt cut the deficit to 13 midway through the second half but the Tigers were unable to complete the comeback as Alabama prevailed, 85-64.

The Tigers converted 32.9 percent of their field goal attempts, but only made 3-of-28 (10.7%) from beyond the arc. On the other end, the Crimson Tide shot 36.8 percent while making 25-of-32 from the free-throw line.

UP NEXT
The Tigers hit the road and travel to Oxford, Miss., for a clash with Ole Miss on Tuesday night. First tip from the Sandy and John Black Pavilion is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be broadcast on SEC Network.